


I don't Understand (but I know you'll explain)

by LegacyWorks



Series: I am Me (no need to ask questions) [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Androgynous Nico Robin, Asexual Character, Asexual Monkey D. Luffy, Asexual main character, F/F, Female Franky, Female Monkey D. Luffy, Female Roronoa Zoro, Female Vinsmoke Sanji, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Genderbending, Genderswap, I'm sorry if I kinda made Nami the bad guy, Male Nami - Freeform, Male Nico Robin, Nami is Namizo, Nico Robin is a good bro, Sanji is very open minded, Skull jokes, Smart Brook, We can actually see how he lived for a long long time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23353828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LegacyWorks/pseuds/LegacyWorks
Summary: “Hey, Robin?” Namizo started, “Could you… explain a bit more? About what we were talking about this morning. You and the girls kept saying things that just didn’t make sense. You’re a guy. And guys wear pants and loose shirts and don’t take care of their hygiene,” Namizo ranted. “They’re supposed to have muscle and be strong, while women are supposed to be weak. That’s how it’s always been.”“Why do we need to follow what has always been?” Robin asked. “Namizo, you’ve joined a pirate crew. You’ve joined this pirate crew.” Namizo was silent for a moment, thinking.“Try talking to some of the others, see what they think. You might learn something that I wouldn’t be able to explain,” Robin suggested. Namizo nodded his head slowly.“Okay, I can do that. Just… don’t expect me to just accept it.”
Relationships: Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates & Nami, Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji
Series: I am Me (no need to ask questions) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1679704
Kudos: 47





	I don't Understand (but I know you'll explain)

**Author's Note:**

> Character Study from Namizo's POV

“Hey, Robin?” Namizo started. They had just finished dinner for the day and Namizo had been quieter than normal. “Could you… explain a bit more? About what we were talking about this morning. You and the girls kept saying things that just didn’t make sense. Why would you still be wearing girly clothes? You aren’t on the run anymore, and people have seen you fighting in a skirt. Doesn't it get in the way?”

“Ah, well, sure. Skirts can be hard to fight in if you wear the wrong type. All of mine are loose and don’t restrict movement, and I have shorts underneath if we are going into a town or somewhere we might be fighting. Or I wear shorts like I did a few days ago.”

“But that just means they get in the way! And, like, you’re a guy. And guys wear pants and loose shirts and don’t take care of their hygiene,” Namizo ranted. “They’re supposed to have muscle and be strong, while women are supposed to be weak. That’s how it’s always been.”

“Why do we need to follow what has always been?” Robin asked. “Namizo, you’ve joined a pirate crew. You’ve joined this pirate crew.” Namizo was silent for a moment, thinking.

“Try talking to some of the others, see what they think. It might be good for you. You don’t need to recognize anything about yourself, and it might be awkward, but you might learn something that I wouldn’t be able to explain,” Robin suggested. Namizo nodded his head slowly. 

“Okay, I can do that. Just… don’t expect me to just accept it.”

…

“You want to know about Tom and everyone? SUPER! It’s story time!” Franky’s hands shot up into the air, and her blocky forearms clanged together to show the stars on the front. Namizo sighed.

“Yeah. Why did you become a shipwright? I always thought that girls hated doing anything messy or that took too much thinking.” Namizo scratched at the back of his head, already uncomfortable. Maybe he should have asked Robin to join, it might have made this easier to bring up.

“That’s SUPER wrong!” Franky was grinning from ear to ear, a direct contrast to her statement. “As long as we did everything with a DON! Tom was proud of us! And Kokoro wasn’t one to stop people from doing what they wanted. If Iceburg and I wanted to build something we were allowed to, no questions asked! But we had to find all the materials in the junkyard since we were broke.”

“So, like. He taught you how to build things? Even though you were a girl?”

“Nah, Tom didn’t teach us anything! We watched him building and figured it out. Sometimes we could help him, but he wanted us to work on our own projects most of the time. Keep it interesting for us instead of just following his instructions,” Franky paused to laugh at her adopted brother for a moment. “Iceburg didn’t like that, but I thought it was SUPER!” Franky’s hands were on her hips in a new power pose, her hair now spiking out in random directions.

Namizo ignored the change. “So you learned a lot from Tom, huh.”

“Yep! And Kokoro, but she wasn’t into ships as much.”

“What, did she teach you how to cook? I bet she was shit at it.”

“Nah, Kokoro couldn’t cook food that Iceburg or I could eat. Everything was raw fish, her being a mermaid and all. Iceburg figured that part out.” Namizo could see Franky holding back her shutter. Kokoro’s food must have really been repulsive for humans.

“So what did she teach you?” He was starting to get frustrated. The woman wasn’t attractive, she couldn’t cook, and Namizo was pretty sure that the kid they met wasn’t hers since there weren’t fins or anything.

“Oh, fighting and how to drive the ships and train. Tom had no clue how to drive, but he was a great engineer. She also showed me how to swim, since Tom was only able to do it the fishman way. Her tail had already split at that point, so it was close enough to having two legs.”

“So,” Namizo started again. There was one super important question that had been on his mind for a while. “Who taught you to wear a bikini? I would have guessed Kokoro did, but… she doesn’t have bottoms when swimming. Being a mermaid and everything.”

In all of the time Namizo had known her, Franky only wore a thin bikini bottom with a top that just barely covered her nipples. Both of them were bright red with her red top floral shirt still flying open in the wind.

“Oh! I found some on the beach one day!” Franky started. She was grinning. “They looked just like this! But were, like, blue. The red ones work better for my style, you know? It’s extra SUPER!”

“Wait, so you didn’t, like, think it would be useful for some reason? Like, if you fell in the water? Or it was easier to put on? There’s no… reason? At all?”

“Nah,” she replied, scratching at her stomach. Namizo forced himself to ignore the strange movement of Franky’s muscles - which he was starting to doubt were muscles since her torso doubled as a fridge door. “I just like SUPER clothes.”

Namizo looked at his bikini-and-floral-shirt-clad friend and walked out of the room.

…

“You, like, were a girl, right?” Namizo asked. It was sometimes hard to tell with Brook, but the way she talked tended to be female speech. Normally. 

“Yohoho! Yes, indeed I am! Can’t you tell from my beautiful face? Not that I have a face, of course! Skull joke!” Namizo forced a grin on to his face.

“I just had to make sure. Actually, never mind.” He started to turn away and leave the skeleton to her own devices, but Brook stopped him.

“Now, don’t go before asking your questions.” Namizo felt a chill rush over him. Sometimes it was easy to forget that his crewmate had lived longer than anyone else Namizo knew. 

“I want to know how our crewmates managed to avoid bad reactions for being who they are. Like Franky with her outfit, or Sanji with her friend. Or Robin with his behavior and personality.”

“And so you want to know how I became myself? Or you want guidance on asking the others questions?” Brook prompted, trying to help Namizo find the words he was looking for.

“How you became you, I guess. I mean, sometimes it’s hard to tell if you were a boy or a girl. The way you dress looks like a dude, the way you normally talk does also. But your speech, and sometimes your voice... I can’t always tell.”

Brook strummed her guitar. “There’s no big secret, you know,” she started. “I grew up in a well off family, learned to play a few instruments, before heading out to sea. I found my crew, showed my skills, and learned even more instruments as they taught and learned from me. I grew together with them, and was affected by them.

“I was one of the few women on the crew, but that never mattered. All of us were equal, all of us were different, and all of us were important in our own way. You can’t have an orchestra when missing an instrument, after all. Yohohoho!

“I guess it reached a point where being a man or a woman stopped mattering. We rarely added new people into the crew, especially not after our old captain’s death. When I took over we began to expect the end, no one wanted to complete the journey without Yorki, but we promised to try. So we did.

“With no one new joining the crew, there was no one to point out differences. They fell to the background.” Brook had a lot of time to think about topics like this. She had very little to entertain herself with while floating around the haze of the Florian Triangle. Contemplating her crew’s dynamics was just as good as anything else.

Brook started her next song, one that her old crew used to play all the time. The one that she first heard when joining the crew all those years ago, with everyone smiling and Yorki still alive to play with them. 

She was thankful that tear ducts didn’t survive her death. She didn’t want Namizo to worry as she experienced her memories of a past never to be forgotten.

…

“Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?” Namizo started off. His voice was a tad quieter than normal. There were too many thoughts running around his mind to stay his normal self. Nothing that happened in his crew mates past stopped them from being them, even when it seemed like everyone was against them. He didn’t know how to handle that.

“Of course my dearest Namizo-kun!” Sanji whipped around, her ponytail almost hitting her eyes in the process. She moved away from her cooking prep for the moment and took out the hair tie to swish her long blond hair around her face. Namizo made the mistake of telling her that it looked nice once.

She always did it when he was around, now.

“You said you had a friend that wasn’t an okama but also not a girl?” He nearly flinched at the guarded look that came over Sanji’s face. It wasn’t something that was normally directed towards Namizo.

“Yeah, I do, though I haven’t talked with zir in a while. Why do you ask?” Sanji went back to the kitchen for a moment and prepared drinks with a speed only she was able to achieve. She was back in moments and handed the drink to Namizo.

“I… want to learn more, I guess? Because I don’t understand it. And I don’t want to come off as brash or rude, but it just doesn't make sense. Like, that thing you keep saying, zir. What does that even mean? And how can you say that she isn’t a girl if she’s a girl?” Sanji stirred her drink in thought.

“Well, ze isn’t a girl, first off. Ze doesn’t think that fits right. It’s too restrictive, I guess. But ze also isn’t a boy, because that doesn't feel right for zir either. I met a lot more people like zir when I was on Momoiro Island during those two years, I met a lot more people who didn’t understand what it was like to be set in one role.

“The person that you feel like you are, like if you’re a girl or a boy or someone else, that’s called gender, or at least it was on that island. It’s different from your body, since it’s part of your mind. My friend, zir body was female, but zir mind wasn’t a boy or a girl. We never had a word for it, and the people on Momoiro Island never cared to name it because it didn’t matter, they were all who they were. But that’s what my friend felt in zir mind.

“Ze wanted me to use different pronouns for zir, because she/her was upsetting. So, we talked and decided on ze/zir. It was similar in sound, but it wasn’t the same, so it didn’t hurt zir to be called those pronouns.” Sanji finished her brief explanation and let Namizo ponder for a while. His face was screwed up in confusion, but Sanji held herself back from pampering the boy. He needed to figure this out on his own.

“How do you know if you… don’t feel like a boy or a girl? That just doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t have the answer to that,” Sanji said. “I think of myself as a woman, and that has never changed. If you really want to know, maybe talk to Robin? He reminds me of my friend sometimes, though I can’t guarantee that he has the answers.” Namizo nodded.

“Now, what would you like to eat? I know you haven’t eaten enough today, too much on your mind. I can’t have my darling Namizo going hungry, now can I? Now come and sit down for a moment before you go talking to other people.”

Namizo took a seat at their large table and rested his head against the wood.

“Sanji, why do you fawn over guys so much?” That stopped her from moving entirely. She glanced back towards Namizo with a small smile stretching her lips.

“I don’t know what to tell you, I just love men. But you’ll always be the first in my heart!” Hearts filed her eyes as she whipped around to refill Namizo’s drink.

“But… don’t you like girls?” Sanji let out a laugh.

“Of course! Romantically, at least. But what does that matter? It’s just a different type of love, entirely and completely. But I don’t want to fawn over them, and I won’t go crazy over them. Think of it as... Worship? Or gratitude? It might come from my past, but who can tell. I want to make sure all the men of the world feel safe and loved! I don’t want to live in a world without men! Women I just take to bed. It’s different.”

Namizo smirked this time. “Watch it, I’ll tell Zoro.” 

“Oh, that brute knows already. But go ahead, I would never try and stop your elegant mouth from speaking!” Namizo stood up and thanked Sanji for the drink before he walked back out onto the deck. His head needed a break, and tending to his mom’s tangerines would do just the trick.  
…

“What, is it my turn yet?” Zoro asked gruffly when Namizo walked into the room. She set down her weights with a thunk and went to grab a towel to dry off the sweat. Namizo covered his nose.

“God, would it kill you to open the windows? It’s disgusting in here.” He went and sat at the bench where a few other towels were left soaking.

“Yeah, it would. Luffy would come flying in and knock the weights out of my hand. Or one of Usopp’s bullets would blow in here because the wind was too strong - and don’t tell me that wouldn’t happen. It already has.” She picked up a different set of weights, placing one in her mouth to work on jaw strength. 

Sure, Zoro could cut through steel and warships now, but that wasn’t enough. She hadn’t cut through a mountain yet, and she couldn’t even think of calling herself the greatest until she at least managed that much.

“So, what do you want?” Zoro had to growl around the weight in her mouth, but Namizo had gotten used to that. He moved out of the way of the giant mass swinging around the room with each of Zoro’s head movements.

“I’ve been asking everyone questions. About their pasts.” Zoro’s weight clanged down at her feet.

“Are you sure you want to know?” Her eye pierced into Namizo’s soul, judging. Namizo had nearly forgotten how sharp his crewmate could be. He forced himself to nod. It was now or never, no way would he get the courage to ask Zoro a second time.

“Why did you decide to become the world’s strongest swordsman?”

“Because I have to be the best,” she answered plainly. Namizo quelled his growing frustration. He was already exhausted from questioning the others and processing what they were saying, he didn’t need Zoro being difficult.

“But why? That’s isn’t a goal that just… happens! Why did you decide that? When?” Zoro sat down cross legged. Her eye sharpened again in concentration. 

“If you really want to know, it was because of my sparring partner. She wanted to prove that she could be the greatest swordsman the world had ever seen, and I was always challenging her. I never won.” She paused, still checking Namizo’s reaction.

“And then she fell on her sword, on Wado Ichimonji.” She held up her prized sword, the only one that had ever lasted through all of her battles. 

“So I have to make sure she hears that I reached the top. I have to become the world’s greatest so that she can see me from the heavens as I tear through the world.”

“And so you train, and you bind, and you look like a dude, all for that one goal? Because of your friend? What about for yourself? Don’t you, like, want to know who you could have been without this?” Zoro laughed, loud and boisterous, throwing her head back. Her short, green hair barely moved at the action but her three earrings tinged against each other.

“Everything you just said, that was all me! I chose this, I chose my goal, I chose each and every action I’ve done. Sure, I want to show Kuina, and I will! But I was working on this long before I met her, and I won’t stop, not until I finish or end up dead in a watery grave.”

Namizo grinned, reaching under the bench to where he knew Zoro kept her booze. “I’ll drink to that! C’mon, you can keep working out later. Let’s get those windows open and let the crew know, it’s time to party!” Zoro grabbed her jug and threw it back, pouring it down her throat.

The two left the crows nest wasted and nearly falling down to deck when they forgot where the ladder was.

“Hey!” Zoro started, calling the attention of the crew.

“Let’s party!” Namizo finished, pulling Zoro forward as he tried to rush to more booze.

…

“Y’know,” Namizo slurred. He normally wouldn’t let himself feel drunk, but it was a hard day and he didn’t want to stay sober. “Ya should really, like, get with Hancock. She’s soooo hot. And likes you. And like, you can’t do better. No one can.” Namizo somehow ended up crashing next to Luffy who was still eating like the pig she was. No one should be able to eat that much without any weight gain, no matter how much exercise they do.

Not even Zoro and she lives to work out.

“Nah, not interested.” Namizo blinked at the girl. 

“What do you mean? Everyone’s interested! Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Zoro was interested and she doesn’t even know how to like someone!” Namizo ignored the shout of protest coming from the corner Zoro took over.

“I’m just not. Unless she has meat! But then I need to keep sailing. Pirates don’t stay still! Shishishi!” Luffy kept chowing down on her food, oblivious to the storm brewing inside of Namizo. This was the last person he had to ask before the end of the day, and he was going to do it if it killed him.

Namizo would be more than willing to be with Hancock, no questions asked. Even Sanji worshiped her, and she only worships men!

“But she’s so… hot! There’s no way you don’t feel anything!” Luffy just hummed before shrugging. 

“I just don’t care.” Namizo could tell, even with his alcohol addled mind, that Luffy was looking at him like he was stupid. She liked having that look if someone didn’t understand what she was saying, even though Luffy rarely ever made sense.

“But how? Don’t you ever, like, feel attracted to someone? Like, having butterflies in your stomach, or wanting to be around them forever? Or just to stare at them for hours?” Luffy shook her head no again.

“Oh! But I want to be around you guys all the time! But Sabo said that’s not attaction like dating or sex. He says I’m like how Ace is. Something about not having drive? Which is dumb!! I have drive, I’m gonna be Queen of the Pirates!” She started laughing again and Zoro sloshed her drink around as a toast.

“That’s not! Ugh. Whatever.” Namizo chugged the rest of his drink before standing up to grab more. Talking to Luffy was useless.  
...

“Well, that was amusing,” Robin started. Namizo’s pounding headache wasn’t letting him think properly. Or see.

“Ugh, bh qhite,” he choked out. Hangovers were a bitch, and the few times he got one it sucked. Robin handed over some water which he gulped down greedily.

“I’m surprised you managed to make it back to the men’s quarters, you were pretty messed up yesterday. Did you manage to learn anything?” He wasn’t going to let it go anytime soon, so Namizo needed to get over this stupid hangover quickly. He also needed to make sure the ship was still on course, it had been a while since the last check.

His newly coated throat was much nicer to talk with. “Yeah, the world doesn’t make any sense and my crewmates break every rule I’ve ever learned.” Robin laughed in his pretty way, which was just another thing that shouldn’t work but does. “I give up. I can’t change you guys, and I have tried. For a long, long time.”

“Oh, don’t say that,” Robin interrupted. “You make sure Zoro showers at least once a month so we don’t have to deal with her smell all the time. And sometimes you even manage to get Luffy to stop fighting our allies, that’s impressive in and of itself.”

“But that’s not what I’ve been trying to change!” He complained. 

“Then go with it. You’re already part of our crazy crew, why not just let yourself be in this way also. Besides, it’s not like you’ve been following Arlong’s expectations since we left your island. You just haven’t noticed it.” Robin walked out of the room after giving Namizo a pat on the head. 

Namizo thought about it for a moment. Maybe Robin was right - oh, who was he kidding. Robin was always right, Namizo just hadn’t been paying attention. 

“Okay… so… I guess it’s fine?” He waited for a shift, something, to tell him that it really, truly was okay, but that shift never happened. He didn’t feel any different than before he went to ask all of his crewmates about their past. There wasn’t an immediate realization like he was expecting. 

But that was okay. Hopefully. 

That said, if Luffy was outside in the crack of dawn without any clothes on while Namizo was still hungover, that little brat was going to get hit.


End file.
